Monday, August 08, 2011
I've known Don Ingalls since I got involved with WBFO, whenever that was. He's a good guy, and a well-intentioned guy who I know is a passionate supporter of the station and of public radio. At the moment he is president of the WBFO Advisory Board. He has a letter in the August 5, 2011 Buffalo News with which I disagree.
The proposed sale of WBFO-FM 88.7 by the University at Buffalo to local public broadcaster WNED is a smart move. Our flagship NPR station will join forces with Buffalo’s two other public radio stations and its public television station, creating new opportunities to serve listeners. A combined operation allows for better alignment of programming, stronger news coverage and more effective use of donor and taxpayer funding.
From its founding by UB students and faculty in 1959,WBFO has earned a national reputation for innovation and leadership. I believe WNED will build on this legacy to make public radio even stronger in the region. I look forward to the next phase of WBFO’s evolution.
These are what are known as conclusory statements. The sale of WBFO is "smart" only if you accept the premise that the consolidation of public broadcasting services in the region is a good idea. I do not. It seems to me that some competition in the field benefits both sides. It is "smart" only if you believe that the educational mission of public broadcasting-- traditionally thought of as one of the form's great strengths, and principle virtues-- is best divorced from the region's leading educational institution. I happen not to think so. It is "smart" only if UB gets genuine value for the asset. I would like to see the evidence for this-- it looks to me like the station has been sold for a mess of pottage.
I continue to be nonplussed by the faint reaction to this sale. I could go on at even greater length about why this seems to me to be a poor idea, but I suppose at some point it is necessary to draw the curtain. I will add only this-- my understanding of the composition of the board over which Don presently presides is that it is is supposed to be composed of three components: UB administration, UB faculty, and "community members". I can understand the last of these thinking that some sort of consolidation of services might be a good idea, but I am disappointed that the university members did not see the value of WBFO to the institution.
// posted by Bill @ 12:37 PM 
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